Stone import thru Banglabandha shut for eight days

Stone import through Banglabandha land port of Panchagarh has remained suspended for the last eight days as the Indian truckers stopped carrying stones to Bangladesh because of the imposition of a new tax.

However, the suspension did not leave any impact on the import and export of other items from and to Nepal, India and Bhutan through the port.

The port earns 90 per cent of its revenue from stone import, which mainly comes from India and Nepal, according to the port officials.

Problems began on July 5 when the port opened after a six-day closer for Eid-ul-Azha.

That day, the traders came to know that the West Bengal government has imposed a transportation tax on trucks carrying stone from India to Bangladesh, but kept Nepali trucks exempted from such tax.

The tax, which should be paid online, was fixed at Rs 3,000 for 6-wheelers and Rs 5,000 for 10/12-wheelers.

On July 6, the Indian truckers under the banner of Phulbari Border Truck Owners Welfare Association suspended carrying stone to Bangladesh, demonstrated at the port area of the Indian territory and demanded imposing the same tax on Nepalese trucks.

Imports resumed on July 7 when local traders stepped in, but it got suspended again on July 11 as Nepalese trucks were still kept out of the purview of the tax.

Nepalese, Indian traders sat with the agitating leaders of the truck owners' association on the Indian side to settle the issue, but it failed to solve the problem, said Kudrat-e-Khuda Milon, general secretary of the Importer and Exporters Group of Banglabandha Land Port.

The port wore a deserted look since the suspension of stone import on July 11, affecting the earnings of workers engaged in stone handling, said Aktarul Alam, former president of Bangabandha Land Port Workers' Union.

He urged the government to take steps to resume the import for the sake of the port as well as the workers of the channel.

"It's an issue of the Indian territory," Showkat Ali Mia, administrative official of Banglabandha Land Port, told The Daily Star.

The suspension could not hurt export or import of other items through the port, he said, but he could not confirm when stone import may resume again.